Originally Posted by MaggieVictoria

I would like to write based on my first hand experience and the results we got with my daughter. My daughter started with a small curve of the t-spine about 10 degrees when she was 8. I was told by the ortho. not to worry about it and it wouldnt progress. When she was 12, i noticed a rib hump, and i saw that she was very short in the trunk Since I have had 3 surgeries, very poor outcomes long term, I as well as she was very concerned. Her Ped. had an xray done and sure enough, she had progressed now to 18 degrees t-spine and 15 degrees l-spine. The problem is that her scoliosis was anomaly. She had already had severe vert. rotation and a rib hump consistent with much larger curves. We were referred by to the ortho. While I was waiting for that appointment, I had been in dialog, with Dr Clayton Stitzel previously as I am interested in non surgical scoliosis advances. I contacted him, and found out that there was a clinic in Toronto that was newly opened and only for one year. I quickly contacted them. It was run by a DC trained in the specialty of Early Stage Scoliosis Intervention program. They are not generalist DCs. They are specialized in the treatment of scoliosis. We went there and had her assessed and a consultation in November. There was concern because of the anomaly that she presented with and she was going to be difficult to treat but I wanted to try. He made no promises, he explained the 3 dimensional aspects of her curves and made no promises. We quickly began her treatment. To me, to sit and wait and do absolutely nothing for her, while we waited for her to get worse made absolutely no sense. I wanted to be pro-active and in the least I wanted to try this treatment. This all happened before we even saw the ortho. because in Canada you can wait months. Since she was 12 and just at her growth spurt I wasnt even waiting. The treatments are 2.5 hours per session, and they schedule it based on each childs unique and differing needs and curves. My daughter very shy soon, began to realize the importance of a pro-active attack against her scoliosis. She has had 17 of the 20 sessions that she was set up for. Last Tuesday, I went to the ortho. She was xrayed again. I wasnt sure what to expect. I wasnt expecting what I saw. The ortho. said that her curve had not changed much from when she was 8. I did not have the xrays taken by her Ped. that showed the progression in her curve. I asked the othro. if that was the xray taken today. She yes, it was. I was stunned at what I saw. My daughters spine after 17 treatments had been reduced to a mere 8 degrees which is not even clinically defined as scoliosis now. The ortho couldnt explain why she had now reduced back down to 8 degrees from the 18 and the 15 she had been referred to her with. I could though. I explained to her that we had been doing the non-surgical treatment in Toronto and I think it is working. I explained to her what they do with these kids, and she even said if my daughter comes back in 6 mos and she is reversed she wants to know what they are doing. I left his card with her. As for long term studies, well, I would like to see more however consider that this treatment does no harm, there are no risks, and it is a pro-active attack not a passive wait and watch protocol that has only been around for 10 years. I think that the long term outcomes are like anything else, she must be monitored and she must still with the program when she goes home. They have provided all the necessary equipment (included in the treatment costs) to use at home. We will go back for maintenance if we need to. I would like to see more studies on the invasive scoliosis surgeries that alter the very bio-mechanics of the body. I would like to see better surgical outcomes because it seems to me that we trade a mobile flexible spine for a rigid fused inflexible spine in fusion surgery. Who will have long term issues, is anyone's guess because we too are not followed long term. Once surgically altered there is no turning back and the ability to take advantage of new treatment advances in the non surgical realm is lost forever. To do again, I would not have opted for surgery. Right now, I can say, that it was right for my daughter, that we are doing what we think is best. I think it is time, for the scoliosis community to seriously look at what these non surgical doctors are doing. I think success in the non surgical reversal lies in the early identification, and early intervention, not bracing, and taking a passive approach to treatment by waiting, doing nothing, and then the child ends up in surgery. Did it work for us, YOU BET IT DID! Is my daughter happy, well adjusted, and secure knowing we embarked on something that is not welcomed by the scoliosis community at large and it worked for us, you bet she is! My goal, is to keep her out of surgery, and we are well on our way to accomplishing that. Please email me if you would like to chat more. Just know these professionals are serious about what they do. They are not qwaks or snake oil salesmen, but they are on to something and in order to fine tune and make further advances in this treatment we must begin to open our minds and start moving away from wait and watch bracing and surgical protocols that do nothing to treat the disease of scoliosis but offer only a band-aid and a Pandora's box of unknowns as we live our lives post-op. In closing, I would like to share with you, her own words, when she was asked by the Ortho. how she felt about the non-surgical treatment we had decided to undertake. "Well, how I feel is not important, this isn't about that. This is about, doing something positive, for my own well-being, and giving me a chance at a better future". Is she on board, YOU BET at the ripe ole, age of 12 even she understands the value in what we have endeavored to do, so WHY now can the scoliosis community at large, drop the guards, and open their minds, for the good of all those afflicted by scoliosis. Show me the studies, that illustrate that surgery, is the best choice to "ban-aid" my spine, with no long term issues, and no residual deformity and perhaps, I will think again, and re-evaluate my position, perhaps, but not likely.